Denver Water
Encyclopedia
Denver Water serves 1.3 million people in the City and County of Denver, Colorado
and a portion of its surrounding suburbs. Established in 1918, the utility is a public agency funded by water rates and new tap fees, not taxes. It is Colorado's oldest and largest water utility.
Denver Water's primary water sources are the South Platte River
, Blue River
, Williams Fork
and Fraser River
watersheds, but it also uses water from the South Boulder Creek
, Ralston Creek
and Bear Creek watersheds.
In 1870, when the rapidly growing community had a population of almost 5,000, the Denver City Water Company was formed. In 1872, with a large well, a steam pump and four miles (6 km) of mains, Denver City Water Company began to provide water to homes. Over the next two decades, 10 water companies fought, collapsed or merged.
As technology progressed, so did the treatment process. By 1906, Denver water was being chlorinated to prevent cholera and typhoid.
In 1918, Denver residents voted to form a five-member Board of Water Commissioners and buy the Denver Union Water Company's water system for $14 million, creating Denver Water. From that time on, Denver Water planned and developed a system to meet the needs of the people of Denver and the surrounding areas.
Denver Water also no longer relies on only one option – building new reservoirs – to ensure customers always have the water they need. Instead, it has a diverse plan to meet those future needs: conserve, recycle and develop.
Conserve
Denver Water invests millions of dollars into conservation programs to encourage customers to reduce their use. The utility provides rebates to customers who buy water-efficient fixtures, conducts free audits of homes and business that use high amounts of water, provides incentive contracts for large-scale consumers to reduce their water consumption, enforces watering rules and spearheads an award-winning advertising campaign to encourage customers to Use Only What You Need. Customers today are using 18 percent less water than they were before the 2002 drought – and there are 10 percent more of them.
Recycle
Recycled water from Denver Water's recycled water distribution system supplies industrial and irrigation customers with nonpotable water, thereby freeing up drinking water for other purposes and reducing trans-mountain diversions. Now, the recycled water system is freeing up enough drinking water to serve roughly 15,000 households; once it’s complete, the system will free up enough drinking water to serve almost 45,000 homes. There are more than a dozen wastewater recycling programs in Colorado, and Denver Water operates the largest recycled water system in Colorado.
Develop
Denver Water has begun plans to expand Gross Reservoir, which would allow the utility to supply customers with an additional 18000 acre.ft of water each year – the amount of water used by roughly 45,000 homes. Denver Water also is turning gravel pits to water storage sites, which allows it to store and release reusable water to meet downstream water requirements.
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
and a portion of its surrounding suburbs. Established in 1918, the utility is a public agency funded by water rates and new tap fees, not taxes. It is Colorado's oldest and largest water utility.
Overview
A five member Board of Water Commissioners is appointed by the mayor of Denver to six-year terms. This board ultimately controls Denver Water. The Board of Water Commissioners in turn designates a manager who is in charge of day-to-day operations.Denver Water's primary water sources are the South Platte River
South Platte River
The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River and itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/Mountain West, located in the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska...
, Blue River
Blue River (Colorado)
The Blue River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long, in the U.S. state of Colorado.It rises in southern Summit County, on the western side of the continental divide in the Ten Mile Range, near Quandary Peak. It flows north past Blue River and Breckenridge, then through the...
, Williams Fork
Williams Fork (Colorado River)
The Williams Fork is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long, in north central Colorado in the United States. It flows through Grand County between the valleys of the Fraser River and the Blue River...
and Fraser River
Fraser River (Colorado)
The Fraser River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long, in north central Colorado in the United States. It drains large portion of the Middle Park basin in Grand County in the Rocky Mountains west of Boulder and southwest of Rocky Mountain National Park. It rises at the...
watersheds, but it also uses water from the South Boulder Creek
Boulder Creek (Colorado)
Boulder Creek is a creek draining the Rocky Mountains to the west of Boulder, Colorado, as well as the city itself and surrounding plains.- Route :...
, Ralston Creek
Ralston Creek (Colorado)
Ralston Creek is a tributary of Clear Creek, approximately long, in central Colorado in the United States. It drains a suburban and urban area of the northwestern Denver Metropolitan Area. It rises in the foothills in northeastern Gilpin County, in southern Golden Gate Canyon State Park...
and Bear Creek watersheds.
History
The first residents of the Denver area drank water directly from the creek and river. Surface wells and buckets of water sufficed for a while as a delivery system, but they soon proved inadequate. Irrigation ditches were the next step forward.In 1870, when the rapidly growing community had a population of almost 5,000, the Denver City Water Company was formed. In 1872, with a large well, a steam pump and four miles (6 km) of mains, Denver City Water Company began to provide water to homes. Over the next two decades, 10 water companies fought, collapsed or merged.
As technology progressed, so did the treatment process. By 1906, Denver water was being chlorinated to prevent cholera and typhoid.
In 1918, Denver residents voted to form a five-member Board of Water Commissioners and buy the Denver Union Water Company's water system for $14 million, creating Denver Water. From that time on, Denver Water planned and developed a system to meet the needs of the people of Denver and the surrounding areas.
Plan for the future
Today, Denver Water produces 234000 acre.ft of water a year, which is about one-third of the state's treated water supply. Denver Water uses 2 percent of all water (treated and untreated) in Colorado (265000 acre.ft per year).Denver Water also no longer relies on only one option – building new reservoirs – to ensure customers always have the water they need. Instead, it has a diverse plan to meet those future needs: conserve, recycle and develop.
Conserve
Denver Water invests millions of dollars into conservation programs to encourage customers to reduce their use. The utility provides rebates to customers who buy water-efficient fixtures, conducts free audits of homes and business that use high amounts of water, provides incentive contracts for large-scale consumers to reduce their water consumption, enforces watering rules and spearheads an award-winning advertising campaign to encourage customers to Use Only What You Need. Customers today are using 18 percent less water than they were before the 2002 drought – and there are 10 percent more of them.
Recycle
Recycled water from Denver Water's recycled water distribution system supplies industrial and irrigation customers with nonpotable water, thereby freeing up drinking water for other purposes and reducing trans-mountain diversions. Now, the recycled water system is freeing up enough drinking water to serve roughly 15,000 households; once it’s complete, the system will free up enough drinking water to serve almost 45,000 homes. There are more than a dozen wastewater recycling programs in Colorado, and Denver Water operates the largest recycled water system in Colorado.
Develop
Denver Water has begun plans to expand Gross Reservoir, which would allow the utility to supply customers with an additional 18000 acre.ft of water each year – the amount of water used by roughly 45,000 homes. Denver Water also is turning gravel pits to water storage sites, which allows it to store and release reusable water to meet downstream water requirements.